COVID-19 has caused immense stress on physicians. Anesthesiologists and critical care physicians have been at the forefront of pandemic response, whether caring for critically ill patients or facilitating surgical procedures amidst significant uncertainty. Health care providers are particularly vulnerable to mental health issues amidst risk of exposure, longer work hours, shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), challenging resource allocation decisions, stress of caring for their loved ones, threatened financial and job security, and an overall decrease in social interactions.

Telework, or telecommuting, is an alternative work arrangement where “employees perform tasks elsewhere that are normally done in a primary or central workplace”. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 25 million people were telecommuting in 2018, and the number of telecommuters increased 115% between 2005 and 2015. Workplace social distancing, including telework, has been considered a possible mitigation strategy during influenza pandemics, and a number of companies and governments have encouraged workers to telecommute because of the current COVID-19 pandemic.